Goal Weights - Predictions, Setting, Surgeons Input?

[CelticBeautyEvolving 23]

How did you set your ultimate goal weights? I am sure it is different for each of us, just curious to know what everyone’s thought process is/was.

Also, how much input did your surgeon have in the goal weight - did your surgeon tell you he/she thought you could get to a certain weight? (And if so, were you successful?)

[New&Improved 1,780]

I would look at BMI for one but then realised it's a very vague scale.

I did find guys my height and built and see what weights they were so that helped.

Even though I've been OBESE most of my life I did get down to 200lbs about 7 years ago and for me being 185cm and big boned family that WEIGHT was good but I feel I could have lost more so this time I'm starting now at 315 I feel this time my perfect weight would be ultimately 180-190

my doctor surgeon he basically said he would be happy just to get me to lose 100 to get to 215 or better so I feel personally just set goals as you go along each time you get that goal see where you body is because it's not just about a number is also about your waist line and your frame and your overall feeling and of course how you look in the mirror and that you feel confidence!

Then there's medical to be healthy risk free of course!

My surgeon really just wants me to lose weight there's no major number but every pound that comes off I'll be healthier with lower BSL BP etc

As I said above set small goals and then beat them.

my first goal is to be under 300; then under 250; then under 200

Goodluck

[ms.sss 14,799]

According to the BMI scales, the "normal" weight range for a woman my height is 101-135 lbs. So I just picked a number in the middle-ish: 120 lbs as my goal weight.

As for my surgeon, he had at first suggested that I could expect to lose about 60% of my excess weight in a year. Which, based on his estimation of 130 lbs as a benchmark for "normal" weight for me, meant I could expect to lose about 63 lbs by my one year surgery anniversary. He was pleased to find out that I lost those 63 lbs by my 3 month post op mark.

I'm don't think its always helpful for surgeons to give their patients goal weights, though...but that's just me.

[Briswife15 889]

I too have picked the middle of "normal" BMI range for my goal. I have only been morbidly obese for 25 of my 57 years, and was slim before that. My feeling is that I'm not going through all this to remain in the obese or overweight category. My surgeon focuses more on gains in health than losses in weight. He says his paitents should see a loss of 60 percent of excess wright, which would still leave me quite heavy. I need to lose 120 pounds to get to my goal. I plan to be successful!!!

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[yoshimon 1]

1 hour ago, ms.sss said:

According to the BMI scales, the "normal" weight range for a woman my height is 101-135 lbs. So I just picked a number in the middle-ish: 120 lbs as my goal weight.

As for my surgeon, he had at first suggested that I could expect to lose about 60% of my excess weight in a year. Which, based on his estimation of 130 lbs as a benchmark for "normal" weight for me, meant I could expect to lose about 63 lbs by my one year surgery anniversary. He was pleased to find out that I lost those 63 lbs by my 3 month post op mark.

I'm don't think its always helpful for surgeons to give their patients goal weights, though...but that's just me.

My surgeon just does not give goal weights at all. It would be nice to have a goal set by someone else - I think that can be a bit more motivating than a goal set by myself.

[RickM 1,747]

I set my goal by body composition, as BMI (as others have noted) is a flakey measure that applies more to population studies than to individuals. I aimed for a mid teens body fat percentage - on the lean side of normal for guys (mid twenties for the ladies) and started with an initial goal weight based upon the (very gross) assumption that all my loss would be fat mass, and then corrected that as I got closer and saw how the BF% was shaking out. As it turned out, I adjusted goal down another 10 lb (to 190 from 200 lb) to reflect about 10 lb loss of muscle mass - we can minimize that, but next to impossible to avoid altogether.

I am "overweight" on a BMI basis at 26-27, but lean - ish by body composition. There has been some discussion within the ASMBS ranks that over-emphasis on BMI can lead to excessive loss of muscle mass, particularly amongst those starting in the higher BMI range, so it is something of an individual judgement thing.